Oak and Ebony Inlaid Barrel Chair

An imposing oak and ebony inlaid barrel chair with slatted sides and shaped top rail, the outside slats inlaid with stylised long-stemmed flower, the inside and front edge likewise inlaid as well as with a geometric motif, attributed to M H Baillie Scott, circa 1900. The drop-in upholstered seat has been renewed. The scale of this chair is unusually large. A similar chair appears in Pyghtle Works catalogue as well as in The Studio 1898, for the Grand Duke of Hesse's Palace in Darmstadt. Baillie Scott designed barrel chairs for various houses in Germany and Switzerland, see 'M H Baillie Scott and the Arts & Crafts Movement' by J D Kornwolf p. 166. The barrel chair form is based on a design by Edward Burne Jones for the William Morris tapestry of 'Arthur and the Holy Grail' of 1896 of which Baillie Scott was aware. C R Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft made the furniture for Baillie Scott's commissions of this period as well as for the Grand Duke's Palace, see' The Houses and Gardens of M H Baillie Scott' by Ian Macdonald-Smith, p90. Attributed maker The Guild of Handicraft. 103cm (40.5in) high.